Merricup Week: One Man's Trash is Another Man's Treasure
by eliezha
Summary: Day One of Merricup Week. Oneshot. Hiccup is distraught over his breakup with Astrid, and Merida consoles him.


So, this is a oneshot for Merricup Week over at tumblr!

I hope you like it, but if you don't - please please tell me! I can't get better if I don't know what to improve, you know? Seriously, please! c:

And obviously, since I'm on a fanfiction website, I don't own either character or anything. C;

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"Hiccup, here's yer tea," she murmured, knocking the chipped mug on his shoulder. He was seated on the hard, wood floor, his back to the sofa as he faced the roaring fire. Without a word, he took the cup and set it on the floor beside him. Merida sighed and plopped herself across from Hiccup, the fireplace immediately warming her up. She set her own mug by her knee, the steam rising off it, up toward the tall, vaulted Viking ceiling. Other than the two teens, only a few late eaters sat in the huge Dining Building of Berk. The hall was dark, the only, flickering light coming from the roasting fire. Merida appreciated the heat enveloping it, as it was a nice contrast from outdoors - the whirlwind storm that raged outside those sturdy walls. It seemed to fit the mood, though, Merida thought.  
Hiccup sat in the same position she had left him in when she went to make tea. His hair fell like a wet, scraggly curtain over his face, his head rested between his knees, drawn up to his chest, with his arms folded, concealing his features. He looked defeated, despaired, and drenched.  
Merida stood and snatched an animal fur from the numerous that lay on the sofa. She draped it over his shoulders and his damp clothes, hoping it would keep him even a tad warm. Still, he stayed silent. Merida settled back down, her eyebrows scrunched in concern and unease.  
"Hiccup, ye can't sit li' that all night," she told him. "...Ye didn't tell me what happened between ye..." she began almost apprehensively.  
"She dumped me," he croaked from between his knees.  
"A know tha', surmised as much from what ye said b'fore. But why, Hiccup? Astrid was lucky! Yer - yer a great guy, Hiccup," her voice faltered at the end, growing softer, and she hoped he wouldn't notice. He was too caught up in his own despair.  
"Not the guy she thought I was, she said," he replied, finally pulling a glum, pained face from behind his hands.  
"Wha'?! Tha's - "  
"She - she said that before, with the whole 'taking control of the dragons and leading them all to save or parents behinds' thing, she said I'd seemed like such a leader, a powerful guy - commanding and in control. I knew what I was doing with the dragons, and I was even better at her at training, like I'd been so 'intimidating', the way she put it. She liked me for that, I guess. After, though -" his voice cracked, sounding warn out and scratchy. Merida raised her tea mug, giving him an eye-brow raise that plainly said 'drink th' stupid tea I made ye'. He obligingly picked up his own and sipped it, but hacked as the hot liquid scalded his throat. He spluttered, trying to cool his mouth. Merida snorted quietly into her cup, but didn't have the heart to make fun of him, not now. More dignified, Hiccup blew on the tea before trying again. He set it back down and cleared his throat. Merida focused back on him, smile gone.  
"After, things were good for awhile, we were friendly and everything, but she said I wasn't like she thought, I wasn't so involved. She started complaining about me always being in my workshop, designing and making weapons and everything and ranted that...er... I was always going off with you guys - you, Jack and Rapunzel..." he paused, and an awkward silence pressed.  
"So she ended it, jus' cause you weren't the big macho Viking she though' ye were?" Merida forced out, her voice quiet. Hiccup shrugged.  
"Not really... I think I wasn't spending as much time with her, riding off and fighting and everything...Well, then I started trying to apologize, but then for some reason she got mad. Started yelling that I was like everyone said - a failure, a wimp, a useless fishbone..."  
"But yer not! Hiccup, yer amazin'!" Merida exclaimed, reaching forward and forcefully patting his knee. He gave her one of those cute, little half smiles, and she beamed.  
"Yeah, well, she broke it off then..." he sighed. "Guess that's our friendship down the drain..." the dejected tone in his voice crept back in, and Merida sighed inwardly.  
"Hiccup, stop that. If she doesn't like ye how ye are, ye don' need 'er. Ye got Jack, Punzie, Toothless and me. An' we all like ye - awkward Viking tha' ye are!" she assured him, this time punching his arm in what she hoped was a supportive gesture. He chuckled.  
"Gee, thanks, what I've always wanted - a rag-tag group of hoodlums and a useless reptile to spend my time with," he remarked, and she laughed. He was coming back to his own self now.  
"Hey!" she giggled, grinning. "Look what we're stuck with, though," she gestured to him and he scowled at her from behind his mug.  
"Dun ye worry, though, Hiccup," Merida assured him, bringing herself back to all seriousness. "Ye'll find someone else, someone who likes ye the way ye are. Fer now, ye got us."  
"Ugh, I don't think I need another relationship," he bemoaned, throwing back his head and scowling at the ceiling. Merida snickered, but her heart gave a shuddering jolt, and her fingers gripped the cold ceramic harder. Of course he didn't want another girlfriend, not just yet.  
"Why don't ye go te' bed, then, hm? It mus' be near eelev'n, I'd think, if'n not later," she urged him, thinking that he must be as tired as he looked.  
"Yeah, you're right," he agreed, slinging his wet hair out of his eyes and glancing at the huge wooden doors. "Great time it'll be, getting through that," he muttered, and Merida silently agreed. She didn't fancy wading through that gale to her guest cabin, either.  
"Fin'sh yer tea first, then," she muttered. "It's gotten much better, right?" He grinned over at her.  
"You mean since the last time - when Toothless up and disappeared for a while? Oh yes, it's gotten much better, going from a 'disgusting cup of muddy water' to a slightly less disgusting cup of muddy water," he chimed, and she gaped in mock shock. Scooting to sit beside him, she socked him in the shoulder and he let out an 'oof!' of protest.  
"Fine, it's fine," he muttered as he massaged his arm, and she stuck out her tongue. She leaned her head against the sofa and sipped her tea, her thoughts on the dread of trudging through that storm. She tried to put it off, but eventually had to give up as she swished the dregs of her drink.  
"Hm, well, I think it's high time we went ta bed, don'cha think?" she broke the silence, clamoring to her feet and stretching. Only the thought of her warm bed, piled high with furs and pillows, kept her from staying on the wood ground.  
"Oh, yeah," Hiccup was startled from his own thoughts, and she helped him to his feet. Merida had never really been good at consoling people, or anything about feelings and all that, so she didn't think she had really gotten her point across earlier. The need to make him understand hit her, square in the chest.  
Before her nerve could fail her, she threw her arms around his neck and pulled him into a hug. He tensed against her - in surprise, she hoped - but relaxed and gripped her as well, his arms tight around her waist.  
"Hiccup, ye'll be fine. I hope yer alright, ye should be. If ye need to talk, anything, whatever ye need, ye know where I am,... come find me. I hope ye know tha' I got yer back," she repeated, her voice soft, but insistent. She wanted to make sure Hiccup knew she was there for him, she was always there for him, and just..whatever happened, through anything, she would be. If Astrid wasn't happy with how he was - how genius, hilarious, hardworking and adorable he was - then that was _her_ problem. Merida would keep him close, she couldn't imagine not having Hiccup there.  
"Thanks, Mer," Hiccup murmured into her hair, and she smiled, pulling back. His little half-smile had made an appearance again, and again she hoped he was alright now. Unable to stop herself from doing what she told herself she wouldn't, she swooped in and planted a soft kiss on his cheek. It was only for a second, and she pulled away, her cheeks rosy now.  
"Bye, Hiccup. I'll see ye tomorrow - we're riding Toothless to that orchard, remember?" she called, not feeling daring enough to look into his face. She scurried from the room, delighted and disgusted with herself, because of that kiss. She had told herself she wouldn't, she couldn't - he was confused enough, she couldn't do that to him. But she was glad, for once, that she had little self control.  
Steeling herself to the task, she pushed open the door and slid into the storm, the wind slamming the slab of wood shut behind her. She couldn't wait until the ride tomorrow - that was what she thought of as she was pelted with stinging rain.


End file.
